We had a great time fielding submissions for our first annual Halloween costume contest. Some of the categories were tight, but we ultimately had to settle on a select few winners. Missed the contest? Send us your favorite photos and we may feature them in a Facebook gallery.
1. Best XC Costume:
The guidelines: Anything related to cross-country skiing!
The winner: Northern Michigan University skier and grad student Jake Brown as pregnant Marit Bjørgen. We love the attention to detail: he’s wearing a Dora-the-Explorer wig, a Norwegian national-team suit courtesy of teammate Vivian Hett (she traded for it at Junior Worlds), and carrying a football as the baby.
![Best XC Costume: NMU skier Jake Brown as pregnant Marit Bjørgen.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/BEST-XC-Jake-Brown.jpg")
Honorable mention: Sugar Bowl Academy skier Hannah Halvorsen “rocking her version of the Marit Bjørgen” during training on Oct. 31. Now that’s spirit!
![Honorable mention for best XC costume: Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy) as Marit Bjørgen. (Photo: Hailey Swirbul)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/SKI-RELATEDCELEB-Hannah-Halvorsen-as-Marit-Bjørgen1.png")
2. Best-Dressed Celebrity:
The guidelines: Any current or former elite-level skier or coach (whose name has appeared in FasterSkier a time or two)
The winners: It was a group effort that we had to give mad props to. Just look at Canmore-based biathletes Sarah Beaudry, Kendall Chong and Emma Lunder in their “100% handmade costumes as the crew from Monsters, Inc.”
![Best Celebrity Costume goes to Canadian biathletes Sarah Beaudry, Kendall Chong and Emma Lunder as the crew from the Pixar and Disney movie Monsters, Inc.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/CELEB-Sarah-Beaudry-Kendall-Chong-and-Emma-Lunder2.jpg")
![Monsters, Inc. (Photo: Pixar Animation)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/Monsters_Inc..jpg")
Honorable mention: Reese Hanneman in his “Speedmax” mask. “I imagined that if there was a Fischer Speedmax Carbonlite superhero, his mask might look like this,” the Alaska Pacific University skier wrote.
![Honorable mention for best celebrity: APU skier Reese Hanneman as a Fischer Speedmax Carbonlite superhero.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/CELEB-Reese-Hanneman.png")
3. Best-Dressed Average Joe:
The guidelines: For the rest of us. Most creative wins!
The winners: This squirrel-nutcracker duo won first place at a costume contest at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley, Wis., this weekend, and Andrew and Rachel Elvester are first place in our book, too! Our question is, why do nutcrackers always have to be so scary?
![Best-Dressed Average Joe (and Jill): Andrew and Rachel Elvester from Minnetonka, Minn., as squirrel and nutcracker.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/AVG-JOE-Andrew-and-Rachel-Elvester1.jpg")
Honorable mention/best average “pro”: We can’t believe she made this out of toilet paper. **Chills**
![Honorable mention for best-dressed average joe: Krystal Minor from Welland, Ontario, is more like a pro...](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/AVG-JOE-Krystal-Minor-2.jpg")
![Honorable mention for best-dressed average joe: Krystal Minor from Welland, Ontario](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/AVG-JOE-Krystal-Minor.jpg")
